Method of making artificial fuel from paper



July 12, 1949. R. o. WILLIAMS ETAL METHOD OF MAKING ARTIFICIAL FUEL FROM PAPER Filed April 5o, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheety 1 O@ NQ muxa Qui- ,.m. mm1 m 3 @n I@ o u m A 4 v m amvmwrdmw mmmu m52 Nmnz Nm. H a m .W m a s o m l a NQI Neviano:

July 12 1949- RIO. WILLIAMS ET AL.` 2,475,767

METHOD OF MAKING ARTIFICIAL FUEL FROM PAPER 3 vShetS--Sl'lee'b 2 Filed April 30, 1946 lit-.2.

HYDRAULIC PRESS July' 12, 1949' R. o. WILLIAMS ETA; 2,475,767

METHOD OF MAKING ARTIFICIAL FUEL FROM PAPER Filed April :50, 194e s sheets-sheet s Patented July 12, 1949 NITE!) Si PTENT OFFICE METHE) 0F MAKING ARTIFECIAL `FUEL FROM PAPER tion of New York Application April 30, 1946, Serial No. 666,052

(Cl. Llei-10) 1 Claim. i

The present invention relates to the manufacture of artificial fuel, and it has particular relation to method of manufacturing articial fuel from paper in some desired form, such as logs or briquets, suitable for burning in a conventional fireplace.

Heretofore, it has been customary to manufacture artificial fuel in the form of logs or briquets from refuse wood, shavings, sawdust, coal dust, floor sweepings, vegetable matter and the line, but to our knowledge it has never been found feasible or desirable to make such fuel exclusively from paper, and especially waste paper, which, in normal times, is relatively cheap and plentiful.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a new and novel treatment of Waste papers whereby artificial fuel in the form of logs or briquets will be formed therefrom having sub-- stantially the burning qualities and heating value ol? natural wood fire logs.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a simple, inexpensive and economical method of making durable re logs .or briquets from waste papers which will retain their molded form under varying atmospheric conditions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive and economical method oi making a durable fire log or briquet from waste papers which will have the outward appearance characteristics of fireplace wood.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel and inexpensive method of making artificial fuel from paper in the fonm of a log or briquet which. will be substantially vermin proof, clean and sanitary at `all times.

A further object .of the invention is to provide a simple, efilcient and economical method of combining inely divided or modulated paper With a suitable binding agent so that the resultant admixture may be molded into an integral formretaining mass.

Another object .of the invention is the provision of a simple, efficient and economical method of roviding logs or briquets made from paper with a suitable color and surface design that will simulate the appearance and color of the bark of natural wood.

A further object of the invention is to provide Q e forni of a log or briquet having a series of al. or transverse ssures spaced throughout its siu'faee area to facilitate combustion.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a simple, eii'icient and inexpensive :in artificial fuel from nodulated .paper made into s 2 method of extruding a continuous length of nodulated paper which is readily separable into sections suitable for use as logs or briqueta which are convenient and easy to handle and of a size suitable for burning in the conventional replace.

A further object of the inventionv is to provide a simple, ecient and economical method of forming logs or briquets by extrusion which comprises the steps of continuously extruding logs or briquets consisting of section-s of nodulated paper conglutinated with `a suitable binder and sections of dry nodulated paper without binder alternately spaced, whereby the ccnglutinated logs will be separable at said sections made up of the dry nodulated paper which does not conglutinate.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a simple, eicient and inexpensive method of making logs or briquets from nodulated paper particles coated with a suitable binding agent by extrusion, which consists in extruding the material to a predetermined length, stopping the extrusion land then extruding a second length, and repeating the cycle whereby said continuously extruded form or strip of materiel will be readily separable into sections radially at the points weakened by interruption ci the extrusion.

Other and further objects and `advantages of the invention reside in the details of the method ci making our artificial fuel, which results in simplicity, economy and eiciency, and which will be apparent from the following description, wherein several embodiments of the invention are shown, reference now being made to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals indicate like parts, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a series of apparatus, each being shown dia-grammatically, which may be employed in carrying out one continuous method of making artificial fuel from paper in the form of logs or briquets;

Figure 2 is a sectional view, on a slightly larger scale, of one method of treating the molded logs or briquets to provide a combustible surface coating that is impervious to moisture;

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view, on even a larger scale, of one form of molded log or briquet made in accordance with the principles of the invention.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view showing another method of treating a molded log -or briquet to provide it with a combustible surface coating that is impervious to moisture;

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view, on another scale, of a different form of apparatus which may mixed with a binder is fed through a conventional roll press and molded into logs or briquets between oppositely driven rollers having aligning pockets therein;

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic View, on still another scale, of a conventional extrusion machine, showing another method of extruding the logs or briquets in a continuous form-retaining mass or strip consisting of sections of nodulated paper conglutinated with a suitable binding agent and sections of dry nodulated paper without binder alternately spaced, whereby the logs formed of the conglutinated sections separate from the continuously extruded strip will be separable into logs or briquets at the sections of untreated nodulated paper;

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view, on the same scale as Figure '7, of a conventional extrusion machine, showing another method of extruding the shredded paper material with binder in a continuous form-retaining strip, whereby radial weakening fissures are formed at spaced longiu tudinal intervals therein, which permits subdivision readily without requiring the aid of any cutting tools or other cutting devices; and

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic View of another form of molded log or briquet made in accordance with the principles of the invention, whereby a series of relatively small radial fissures are formed throughout the surface area to facilitate burning and enhance its appearance.

Claims to the products illustrated in this application form the subject-matter of a copending application, which is being filed on even date herewith, under Serial No. 666,051.

Waste papers collected from o'ices, factories, stores and the like consist of many different kinds and grades of paper. These waste papers for the purpose of this invention may be divided into three general classes; to-wit: (1) non-absorbent paper, (2) absorbent paper and (3) a mixture of both non-absorbent and absorbent papers.

Chemical pulp paper is known generally as a paper consisting of cellulose and sizing such as resin, partially saponified resin, clay, kaolin, silicates, synthetic plastics, and the like materials. f

Such papers are practically impermeable or at best semi-permeable to water, or liquid binders, such as, for example, water soluble silicates, concentrated sulphite liquors, solutions of natural or synthetic resins in mineral, vegetable or essential oils. All such papers may be described aptly as non-absorbent papers, and will hereinafter for the purpose of this invention be so referred to in the specication and claims.

Absorbent paper consists of newsprint, cardboard, box-board and the like. Absorbent paper, unlike non-absorbent paper, contains little or no sizing and is highly absorbent to liquids. For the purpose of this invention, all such papers will be referred to hereinafter as absorbent papers.

Between the absorbent and non-absorbent papers, there is a distinct class of paper that is made up of a mixture of non-absorbent and absorbent pulps and papers. This type of paper is partially absorbent to liquids, and will hereinafter for convenience be referred to in this application as semi-absorbent paper.

When the various kinds of waste papers are collected, in the normal course of processing or handling, they are sorted or graded into at least the above three named classes. While it is possible to manufacture articial fuel logs entirely from any one class ci paper, it has been found more desirable and practicable to use a mixture of the three kinds of paper in the making of such artificial fuel, and the preferable mixture has been found to consists of approximately seventy percent non-absorbent paper, fifteen percent absorbent paper and fifteen percent semi-absorbent paper. Experiments have shown that this ratio produces the best logs or briquets, and it is easily the most desirable since the average collection of mixed waste papers has approximately these proportions of each therein which means that substantially all of the waste paper gathered in a normal collection may be used advantageously in the making of our artificial fuel.

The sheets or pieces of paper are first placed in a hopper l@ (see Figure l), which feeds by gravity onto a conventional belt conveyor l2. The belt conveyor I2 carries the paper under a conventional magnetic separator I4, which attracts and separates out any scrap metal, such as paper clips, etc, that might have been contained in the paper. The paper is carried by the belt conveyor l2 to a conventional grinder or nodulator if. The grinder or nodulator I6 grinds and more importantly tears the sheets or pieces of paper into relatively small particles. It has been found that straight cut particles of waste paper do not produce satisfactory articial fuel. Straight cut particles of paper do not lend themselves to a proper mixture with a binding agent, are dinicult to compress and, in the step of compressing, tend to form wads or layers, which give undesirable physical properties and burning qualities. The sizing on the non-absorbent paper does not permit the binder to soak sufficiently into the paper to bind the various particles together. In the grinding or nodulating of paper, the individual pieces are not only out into small particles, but they are also torn. stretched and rubbed over and over again until a majority of the sizing materials are freed in the form of relatively fine particles and dust. The grinder I6 has in its bottom a suitable built-in removable screen through which the nodulated particles must pass, and in this way the maximum size of the particles is controlled by using a screen of the proper mesh. After the ground or nodulated paper particles pass through. the screen and out of the grinder l'S, they are withdrawn into the discharge pipe i8 by means of a conventional pump or blower 20, which also forces and blows the finely nodulated materia into the suction pipe 22 leading into a conventional air flotation or cyclone separator 2d.

The cyclone separator 24 operates in such a manner as to separate the ground or nodulated particles into one or more classes, which for the purpose of this illustration are three, to-wit: dust, medium size paper particles and large or coarse size paper particles. The dust, which includes the very small or ultra iine paper particles and all of the freed sizing, as well as any dirt or other inert mineral matter contained originally in the waste paper, is conveyed away from the separator 2li through a suitable discharge pipe 2G. The discharge pipe 26 delivers the dust to a suitable hopper 28 from which it is discharged by gravity onto a conveyor belt 30 to be delivered thereby into a conventional mechanical bindermixer 32. While the dust is being agitated in the bindermixer 32, the required amount of binding material or agent is delivered thereto by means of a pipe 31% from a source of supply (not shown). The delivery pipe 31? is provided with a suitable control valve 35. It has been found by experience that the mixing of the binding material lwith the nodulated paper is best accomplished by lrst mixing the ultra ne paper particles and the dust particles with the binding material to form a viscous paste. When there is insufficient dust in the waste paper being ground or nodulated, it has been found that wood pulp will make an excellent substitute or filler therefor in making up the binding paste. The binding paste is delivered through a suitable discharge outlet 38 in the bottom of the binder-mixer 32 into a second mechanical mixer or fluxer 40.

The medium size particles of nodulated paper are conveyed from the cyclone separator 2i through a suitable discharge pipe l2 into a hopper Ilfl, and conveyed therefrom by 'gravity into the fluxer do through a suitable discharge pipe 45.

The larger size or coarse particles of theground or nodulated paper are withdrawn from the cyclone separator 24 through a discharge pipe 5t, which conveys them into a hopper 52 from which they are discharged by gravity onto a conveyor 5t. The conveyor 54 transports the material discharged thereon to a conventional paper heater or scorcher 56. The paper heater or scorcher may be of any desired construction capable oi heating the contents thereof to a degree of heat sufncient to cause a partial burning or scorching of the individual paper particles. We have found that a temperature between 150 and 180 degrees F. in the heater or scorcher 56 is sufficient to scorch enough of the paper contents thereof to produce a satisfactory color to the finished logs or briquets. When the desired degree of scorching or browning has been accomplished, the material in the scorcher 55 is discharged through the pipe 58 into the uxer lill. The materials received in the fiuxer lll from the delivery pipes 33, Si and 58 are now mixed thoroughly mechanically until substantially all of the nodulated particles are coated intimately and the voids are iilled with the binding agent. The cornpounded admixture, consisting of the modulated paper and binding agent, is removed from the iluxer it by means of a conventional screw conveyor 5S.

It was found, on many occasions, that the compounded admixture contained too much moisture for molding into form-retaining units resembling logs or briquets. which excessive moisture often due to the relative humidity of the rounding atmosphere. In such cases, the com pounded material should be treated to remove the excess moisture. There included diagrammatically in Figure l a novel method of treating such an excessively moist admixture to reduce its moisture content to the desired amount, which should be between ve and twenty percent by weight. depending on the kind of paper being used. the size of the logs to be made. the density of the logs, amount of pressure available, and the rnethod of compressing. There are so many variables in the making or" such logs or briquets that no satisfactory table can be compiled for guiding the operation. The admixture in the fluxer lll is withdrawn by means of a conventional screw conveyor 5B and discharged into a conventional ele-- vator t2, which in turn delivers the admixture through a suitable gravity -discharge pipe llt whereby it falls into the top of a conventional atmospheric drier B. The atmospheric Ldrier td consists of a vertical tank of conventional construction, having a heated air pump 67 at its base for forcing a current of dry heated air upwardly therethrough. The current of heated air containn ing the moisture absorbed from the wet-falling admixture leaves the drier M at the top through a suitable valved outlet 65. Obviously, the heated air current passing through the drier 5i in a direction counter to the falling admixture particles absorbs moisture from such particles. By controlling the temperature, relative humidity, voiume of heated air, etc. passing through the drier 5t, the amount of `moisture to be removed from the falling adrnixture particles may be accurately controlled, Iwhich in turn governs the amount of moisture remaining in the admixture at the time it is delivered to the extruding machine l2 or other compressing means.

The admixture now having the desired moisture content, which as previously stated is between five and twenty percent by weight, is removed from the bottom of the drier E11 by means of a conventional screw conveyor BS into a mixing hopper lll, which in turn feeds the admixture into a conventional extruding machine '12. The admixture can be extruded into suitable logs or briquets at varying degrees of pressure from ben tween 250 and 1200 pounds per square inch. depending upon the size and type of log to be pro duced, the moisture content, temperature, The admixture as it leaves the extruding machine 12 is deposited onto a conveyor 'lf3 in the forni of a continuous form-retaining strip 7E. The strip 'E6 may be severed into suitable lengths for logs or briquets by any suitable means. A high speed revolving knife 13 is shown as one method of cutting the extruded material 16 into suitable lengths for the ireplace. The severed sections or pieces Si] fall onto a conveyor 82 and are thereby delivered to a conventional roll press 8d, which impresses an outer surface with a suitable ernn bellishing design, such as for example, a roughened surface resembling the surface or bark of tree, as best shown in Figure 3. It is possible to embellish the outer surface of the extruded strip 'i6 within a short time after extrusion, as the ez truded material remains soft and plastic for a period of about twenty minutes during which time any embellishment can be produced thereon.

The ornamental pieces Si? are now ready to coated with a combustible moisture proof coating material to prevent them from disintegrating when stored in a damp place, sprayed with water, as by rain, etc. Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown one method of applying a suitable cuter protective coating to the embellished sections which consists of immersing the sections dit into a quantity or coating material 82 contained in a tank 8@ while the saine is held and manipulated by means of a conventional pair of manipidating tongs 86. In Figure 4, there is shown another method of applying a suitable outer protective coating to the embellished sections 80, which consists of spraying the outer surfaces thereof with the coating material 9i! by means of a cmivenM tional paint spray gun 92.

Referring now to Figure 5, there is shown a modied method of compacting the compounded material or admixture into logs or briquets o E r'lreplace size. In this method, the admxture G3 :is placed in a hollow mold 95, which can be of any desired shape, but one of cylindrical shape has been employed for the purposes of illustration in the drawing. The mold 95 is closed at one end by means of a removable base plug 91, and the admixture S3 is deposited therein to be compressed by means of a conventional hydraulic press or ram 99, which forces the material into a compacted mass against the base plug 3l. The internal surface of the mold 95 may be provided, if desired, with any suitable surface ornamentan tion, such as for example, a design which will reproduce a surface ornamentation simulating the bark or outer surface of a tree. rlhe compressing force required to compress the admixture will depend upon a number of factors, viz: the de sired density of the iinished log or briquet, the size and type of log to be made, the amount of moisture in the adrnixture, the type of nodulated paper, the type of binding agent, etc. These iactors are all so variable that no accurate table of pressure may be given as an exact guide herein, In our co-pending application, containing claims to the product produced herein, we have given detailed data on the ingredients and, using such ingredients, we found that a pressure between one thousand and eighteen hundred pourais. per square inch was required to produce logs or briquets having a density between l and 1.1 and a weight between sixty and sixty-five pounds cubic foot.

In Figure 6 there is shown diagrammatically another method of making fireplace logs or briquets from modulated paper particles ce; fed with a suitable binding agent. l method consists of processing the ad ure in a conventional roll prees to form logs or briquets of the desired size and shape. a ture |02 is deposited in a hopper wl .feeds its contents by gravity between opposing rolls |86 and |98, which are driven in opposite directions as indica-ted by the arrows. Each roll IGS and |58 is provided with a series of circumferentially spaced hollow pockets III), which are of semi-circular shape and at their point of tangency become aligned to form a cylindrical hollow chamber or recess III in which the material |02 is compressed, The internal surface areas of each of the pockets Id or" each of the rolls |06 and |08 may be suitably engraved or embossed with a design which will be reproduced on the surface area of the compacted logs or briquets H2. After the admixture 5.12 is compressed or compacted within the aligned pockets cr recess III into the form of a cylindrical log or briquet, the same is released and dropped onto a conveyor I I4 as the chamber l I separates into individual pockets Iii! with further move ment of the rolls IUE and |68. The conveyor H4 serves to convey away the logs or briquets l I2 to a suitable coating station (not shown) Referring now to Figure '1, there is shown another modiiied method of forming a series of logs or briquets by extrusion. In this method a part of the ground or nodulated paper is treated with a suitable binding agent, as previously described, and the remainder of the paper particles are left untreated. A predetermined or measured quantity of a relatively large amount of treated nodulated paper particles or admixture is positioned in a hopper IZB and fed by gravity into a conventional extruding machine |22. As the last portion of the admixture is entering the extruding machine |22, a relatively small quantity of untreated dry nodulated paper particles is deposited in the hopper |20 to gravitate into the machine |22.

By repeating this cycle indefinitely with an alternate feeding of a relatively large quantity of treated admixture and a relatively small quantity of untreated paper particles, a continuous strip of material |23 will be extruded from the machine |22 with relatively large sections of conglutinated admixture |24 and relatively narrow sections of untreated paper particles |26. By the term a relatively large amount of conglutinated admixture, it is meant that quantity of admixture necessary to produce a log or briquet of the desired size and density, and by the term relatively small quantity of untreated dry shredded paper particles, it is meant that quantity necessary to produce a relatively thin section |26 of untreated material in the continuously extruded strip |23. By this method of manufacture, a continuously extruded strip |23 is deposited by the extrusion machine onto the conveyor |23, which will be readily separable into individual logs or briquets |30 of the desired length through the sections made up of untreated paper particles 2S. It will be found that the untreated nodulated paper particles |26 will pick up enough binding agent in passing through the extrusion machine |22 to remain form-retaining in the supported continuously extruded strip |23, but that the sections |26 of untreated shredded paper will not become compacted enough under the pressure of extrusion to prevent ready separation without the aid of auxiliary cutting tools or devices.

In Figure 8 there is shown another modification of the method of the invention, which can be advantageously employed in the making of a series of logs or briquets by extruding an admixture of nodulated paper particles mixed or treated with a suitable binding agent. In this modication, the nodulated paper particles treated with the binding agent are continuously fed into the mixing hopper |3| of a conventional extruding machine |33. By stopping the extruding machine 33 at predetermined time intervals, or by operating the extruding machine |33 intermittently, a transverse crack |35 will be formed in the continuously extruded strip |31 at regular spaced intervals, which will so greatly weaken the strip |31 that it will be readily separable into individual sections or units transversely along the planes of said transverse cracks |35. A conveyor |39 supports the strip |31 as it is extruded from the extruding machine |33.

Referring now to Figure 9, there is shown a modified form of log or briquet that is provided with a series of small radial fissures, cracks or splits |42, which are open on the surface and extend radially inwardly of the compacted mass. The ssures |42 become lled with air from the surrounding atmosphere, and this air greatly facilitates combustion of the material during burning. These ssures |42 can be formed in any number of different ways. In the method illustrated in Figure 5, they may be formed by alternately placing a small quantity of the admixture 93 in the hollow mold 95 and compressing, adding another small quantity of admixture and compressing again, and by repeating the cycle until the mold 95 has been lled to the extent necessary to form a log |40 of the desired size. They can also be formed in the extruded strips |23 and |31 of Figures 7 and 8, respectively, by mounting the feed screw of the extruding machine eccentrically. Another method found satisfactory in an extrusion operation is to operate the extrusion machine intermittently, or in a pulsat .ing manner with a varying degree of pressure,

speed, etc. It has been found that any one of these methods Will produce satisfactory small ssures |42 throughout the surface area of an extruded strip.

Since the details of preparing the paper, particle sizes desirable, binding material formulas,

coating material formulas, temperatures, pres-A sures and densities of the various type of logs or briquets are relatively unimportant from the standpoint of the several methods of making the logs or briquets shown and described in this application, and since all of these data are described in detail in our co-pending application aforementioned, reference is hereby made to it again with the same force and eiect as though such subject-matter was included herein at length and made a part hereof.v

The logs or briquets, after being extruded and separated into individual sections of the desired length by cutting or any other suitable method, are treated in the following manner in order to make them water or moisture resistant. The logs or briquets after cutting are dried or heat treated in any suitable manner to remove the moisture from their surface to a depth of from one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch. They are now ready to be dipped or coated with a solution of Water silicates having a water content between seventyflve and eighty percent. After coating the logs or briquets with the Water silicate solution, they are again dried or heat treated until their surface is dry and non-tacky. The re-dried logs or briquets are now dipped or sprayed again with a waterresisting solution consisting of a natural resin, gum or plastic, mixed with a mineral oil in the proportion by Weight of four to one. Obviously, the Water-resisting solution must be heated above the melting temperature of the resin, gum or plastic, used, but it has been found that it should not be heated to a temperature greater than forty degrees C. above the melting point of the particular resin, gum or plastic, used.

After the logs or briquets have been treated by dipping and/ or spraying with the water-resisting solution, it will be found that the silicates, resin, gum or plastic, contained therein will have formed minute particles on the surface thereof, which particles, after progressive heat treatments as above described, will tend to melt and join together to form a continuous thin sheet or coating that is substantially impervious to moisture.

The term paper wherever used throughout the specification and claims shall be interpreted generically, and shall include old and/or new paper, boxboard and/or pulp board, and/or combinations thereof, in any and all forms.

Although we have only described several embodiments of our invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not so limited, but that various other modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit thereof or from the scope of the appended claim.

What we claim is:

The method of converting paper into artificial fuel in the form of logs or briquets which comprises the steps of nodulating the paper to a relatively ine state, mixing the nodulated paper particles with a binding agent, continuously extruding the resultant admixture under pulsating varying pressures into a solid form-retaining mass having a series of spaced radial ssures therein, and cutting the mass into individual sections.

RALPH O. WILLIAMS. VLADIMIR BREDLIK.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,050,535 Hartung Jan. 14, 1913 1,376,706 Kratochwill May 3, 1921 1,572,629 Welton Feb. 9, 1926 1,625,133 Mohler Apr. 19, 1927 1,914,271 McCarron June 13, 1933 1,926,578 Brown Sept. 12, 1933 1,977,890 OhlWiler Oct. 23, 1934 OTHER REFERENCES Rodgers: Thermal and Physical Properties of Fuel Briquettes Made from Agricultural and Other Waste Products, Agricultural Engineering, May 1936, vol. 17, No. 45, 

